Implantable neurostimulation devices can be employed to manage pain arising from a variety of neuropathies and provide a valuable treatment for chronic intractable neuropathic pain. Neurostimulation is also being investigated for cardiac applications such as treatment of heart failure and atrial fibrillation. To these various ends, a spinal cord stimulation (SCS) device or other neurostimulator may be implanted within the body to deliver electrical pulses to nerves or other tissues. The neurostimulator typically includes a small pulse generator device similar to a pacemaker but equipped to send electrical pulses to leads mounted along the nerves near the spinal cord or elsewhere within the body. For SCS, the generator is often implanted in the abdomen. The stimulation leads may include thin wires or paddles for delivering electrical pulses to patient nerve tissues. An external controller, similar to a remote control device, may be provided to allow the patient to control or adjust the neurostimulation. Currently, prior to permanent (i.e. chronic or long-term) implant of a neurostimulator, the patient undergoes a trial period during which he or she is implanted with a percutaneous lead that is externalized and connected to a trial neurostimulation control device or instrument, which the patient carries with him or her.
In United States, patients typically have the trial neurostimulation system for less than a week. In Europe, the trial period can last up to a month. Unfortunately, current trial neurostimulation devices are problematic. The implanted percutaneous lead can be inadvertently pulled from the epidural space or may migrate from the implant site such that the patient will receive no therapeutic benefit. This can result in a failed trial. Current systems are often quite cumbersome. Typically, the lead is taped to the skin at the exit point. A long extension connects the lead with the trial neurostimulator, which is worn on a belt. The extension and lead are packaged within a bulky bandage and tape arrangement that is uncomfortable and irritating for the patient. With such devices, the patient is not allowed to shower. The trial experience can often be very unpleasant, particularly for patients who do not tolerate being “taped up.” It is believed that the “annoyance factor” can lead to a failed trial because the patients become “fed up” with the process. As a result, many patients who might benefit from SCS or other forms of neurostimulation do not receive such devices.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide improved trial neurostimulation devices and accessories for use therewith that address these or other problems, and it is to this end that at least some aspects of the disclosure are directed.